Blowing up magic items, yes or no?

[Tiberius]

Silly or no, them's the rules. I refer you to the FAQ:

If a character fails her saving throw against a disintegrate
spell, are all her items disintegrated with her?

No. When a character fails a saving throw against a spell or other magical attack, all her items survive unless the spell or attack description says otherwise or the character rolls a natural 1 on the save. If the character rolled a natural 1 on the save, one item the character wore or carried is affected by the spell or attack. (See Table 10-1 in the Player's Handbook and the accompanying text for details.) The exposed item must make its own saving throw against the spell or attack.

This makes the Disintegrate spell far more useful, IMO. Besides, the ranged touch attack needn't necessarily strike the armor. There is almost certainly some exposed surface somewhere.

As for the original question of this thread, I see nothing wrong with what the wizard did. I would have gone with Dispel Magic then Shatter myself, but I can see the economy of using only one spell. I'm also the type to try to Disintegrate the character and follow it up with a Quickened Gust of Wind, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about player-approved tactics.

-Tiberius

 

[takyris]

Tiberius, thanks for the quote. While I disagree vehemently with it, knowing that that's the rule as written is good. Thanks.

That said, as for "not necessarily hitting armor", what about the guy in full plate with the helmet with the visor down? Given that the average player is wearing armor or robes or clothing when the disintegrate spell hits, it stands to reason that somewhere around 90% of the body is covered with something beyond skin. Ergo, the disintegration spell hits that armor or clothing and then mysteriously bypasses it, burrowing through to surround the body itself before activating.

This ruling is on crack, and will sit proudly beside other "Rules to Ignore" from the Sage.

In previous editions, the whole POINT of disintegrate was the good news, bad news -- it was a Save or Die spell, but you didn't want to use it all the time because the guy might have something on him -- items, a convenient note from his evil superior, etc.

Okay, sorry -- off topic of this thread. And thanks again for pointing me at the official ruling.

-Tacky

 

[Hakkenshi]

I really don't see what the big deal is with trashing a fighter's weapon. I've done it in lower-level games, and since MORE monsters get the ability to break items at higher levels, the trend should increase, not decrease.

Yes, the Disintegrate ray had as good a chance of disintegrating the fighter as it did the sword. But in game terms, the wizard is probably thinking "How can I make the warrior ineffective?" I'd think destroying his powerful magical sword is a good answer. So is killing him, but both are valid, and nuking the sword is better if you want the fighter alive.

If it's not abused, it's a great tactic. It shouldn't happen every session, but once in a while is fine. I had a campaign which ran about 20 sessions long, where the Arcane Archer, after shooting half a quiver's worth of arrows at a Cornugon, had his +2 bow shattered by the annoyed creature. Suddenly the fight was more of a challenge for the party. And more interesting.

The character was disappointed by the loss of the bow, but the player wasn't pissed. In fact, I just recently allowed him to level up that same Arcane Archer to join my epic-level game, and the character now has a backup +2 bow in a Gauntlet of Storing, along with 10 unstrung masterwork bows in a Heward's Handy Haversack (or some such thing). Talk about learning from your experiences!

 

[Squire James]

I have a "spill-over" rule (usually resulting in destruction of 50-75% of magic items) that takes effect when a character dies and the player states he does not want resurrection. This helps avoid a PC wealth loophole that occurs when everyone's wealth suddenly jumps by 1/3 because they looted a fellow PC (and the new PC who steps in has shiny new stuff). This is more a balancing measure than an actual desire to destroy items (and stuff I want the party to have will mysteriously survive).

 

[Greybar]

I'm all for playing by the rules folks, but don't forget the most important rule of all... Rule Zero.

John

 

[Hakkenshi]

Yeah, but do you mean Rule 0 as in "Nothing on the gods' green earth should be Disintegrated, especially +5 swords!" or Rule 0 as in "Do you like my Rod of Split Rayed Disintegrate at will?"

 

[Lord Ben]

Yeah, but do you mean Rule 0 as in "Nothing on the gods' green earth should be Disintegrated, especially +5 swords!" or Rule 0 as in "Do you like my Rod of Split Rayed Disintegrate at will?"

... which only functions for CE Dwarves with red hair within 100ft of this tower where the evil bad CE red haired dwarf lives.

I like breaking PC's magic items. But when I do I usually roll in front of them.

 

[Jalkain]

I say roll separate saving throws for all your important gear when failing a save after being struck by a fireball, disintegrate, falling a large distance etc. That was one thing I really liked about playing 1st edition...

Sure it takes a few minutes, but it gets rid of excess magic, and engenders a sense of caution in any particularly reckless players.

 

[Cheiromancer]

I say roll separate saving throws for all your important gear when failing a save after being struck by a fireball, disintegrate, falling a large distance etc.

I would do it only if the character died. Loss of hit points from fireballs or disintegrates is largely abstract- you use up x hp worth of "luck" but it's mostly scratches and scorch marks. No need to roll saves for your items.

But if you are dead, it means massive physical trauma- nothing abstract about being turned to dust or cooked to a cinder. In which case your items should save or be destroyed.

 

[Tzarevitch]

Nothing lasts forever. This guys just whining because he lost a +5 keen greatsword. Nothing whatsoever wrong with the way you described it.

Amen to that.

In all of the campaigns I have played in and/or run neither PC nor DM have ever hesitated to destroy inconvienent magic items that the other side may possess. Also, neither myself nor the DM in my other campaign use the rule about needing a weapon of equal plus to destroy a magic weapon. We destroy magic items all the time.

Whatever it takes to remain alive when the dust clears.

Tzarevitch